First lens?

[nickmeertens]

Well, I ordered the Epson R-D1s! A store in the Netherlands says they can get it for me for 1995 Euro's which isnt bad at all. Thank you for all your comments in my previous post!

This being my first rangefinder and having a limited budget I'm thinking about which lens to start with. I'm now contemplating the Voigtlander 35mm 1.7Ultron, the voigtlander 40mm 1.4 Nokton or the Minolta 40mm 2.0 M-Rokkor.

If you would have to do with just one lens for a few months, which of these would it be and why!?

Thanks again for your help!

Nick

 

[jlw]

If you normally like to use a 50mm lens on a 35mm film camera, the 35/1.7 Ultron would be a good choice for the R-D; it "sees" about the same way.

If your budget is really limited and you don't need a wide aperture, you might also consider the 35/2.5 Skopar, which is significantly less expensive than the Ultron. With either lens, don't forget to budget for a screw-to-bayonet adapter, which will be needed to use these screwmount lenses on the R-D's M-type bayonet mount.

Both the 40mm lenses (which are in M-mounts, so do not require an adapter) are of very high imaging quality, but you will have a bit more trouble getting precise framing because the R-D does not have a separate frameline for 40mm.

My own experience using the 40/1.4 Nokton is that the 35mm frameline provides a pretty accurate guide until you get closer than about 8 feet; closer than that, the framelines show a bit more than you get in the picture, which can result in things you wanted to include being cropped out. You can estimate this effect and make allowances for it, but it's easy to forget to do this in the heat of picture-taking.

 

[Didier]

I can second JLW for the focal length. Keep in mind that the 40mm is a 60mm with the crop factor. If you're really tight on the budget, you might consider the Voigtlander Color Skopar 2.5/35mm "C" (Classic) which is available for $209 at cameraquest.com - a real bargain. I find this lens has a nicer OOF rendering (bokeh) than the Ultron (which I used to own too).
Didier

 

[nickmeertens]

Thank you JLW. Yes I like the 50mm fov and I also like low light Photography so f2 is minimal.

I read that the 35mm frameline on the R-D1 works well with 40mm but did not know about the closer than 8 ft issue. Thanks for that!

Didier, I see you have the Single Coated 40mm Nokton, can you tell me the difference in the results you get with that and the normal (multi coated?) version?

 

[Mark Norton]

As a first lens, I agree 35mm is the way to go. You might also look at a second-hand pre-ASPH Leica Summicron.

 

[kshapero]

I think the 40mm/1.4 is a superb, sharp lens. I don't think I would worry too much about the framelines. But.... I have never shot a 60mm before. now instead of a almost wide angle you would have a almost telephoto. weird.

 

[Steve Litt]

Great news that you have ordered a RD1.I am sure you will be delighted with it.As for lens choice we have a similar thread updated last week started by spxxx (lens question) Where you can read myself and others enthusing about the summicron/minolta 40mm f2 amongst other posts.
Regards
Steve.

 

[Captain Video]

Lenses

Lenses

I have the 40mm Nokton. It is a great lense. However, my favorite at the moment is the 28mm Ultron. It is fast, the FOV is great for street and indoor photography. It is, however, a bigger lense than the 40.

 

[sreidvt]

In terms of sheer performance per dollar (assuming that one likes the look of files from this lens) I would recommend the CV 35/2.5 Pancake II which will not need an adapter on the R-D1. I'll discuss this in a review later but the color produced by that lens is really something special and it's very adept with B&W as well. Aside from the loss of speed, I prefer it to the CV 35/1.7 (I own both and have, of course, tested them systematically for an upcoming article).

Cheers,

Sean

 

[nickmeertens]

In terms of sheer performance per dollar (assuming that one likes the look of files from this lens) I would recommend the CV 35/2.5 Pancake II which will not need an adapter on the R-D1. I'll discuss this in a review later but the color produced by that lens is really something special and it's very adept with B&W as well. Aside from the loss of speed, I prefer it to the CV 35/1.7 (I own both and have, of course, tested them systematically for an upcoming article).

Cheers,

Sean

Thanks Sean, I am really looking forward to that article! And since I consider you the Number 1 authority on the Epson and from previous reviews seem to share your taste in 'drawing' of lenses (and because it wont break the bank) I'll take your advice and order one!

Thanks all!

 

[morgan]

I'd be interested in that comparison as well. I'm looking to get a 35mm to go with my bessa-r.

 

[sf]

I'd go with the Nokton 40, personally. Best all-round lens in the bunch. Also in my opinion.

 

[pab]

The 35mm f2.5 Skopar is outstanding and my most used lens on the R-D1.